Taupō Choral Solid Gold 50 Years

3 Nov 2026

On Sunday 15 November the Taupō Choral Society will give a special concert to celebrate their 50^th anniversary.
The Solid Gold 50^th Jubilee Concert promises to showcase the choir’s history and their shared enjoyment of singing together. The welcome in their souvenir programme states:

“Taupō Choral Solid Gold 50th Jubilee Concert reflects the breadth of music that has shaped the choir’s journey over five decades. The programme features highlights from our history, including beloved choruses from Handel’s Messiah and other favourites that have accompanied the choir through its many years. Solid Gold is more than a performance. It is a tribute to the people, partnerships, and passion that have sustained our choir for fifty years, with a joyful look toward the next fifty.” 

The souvenir programme also contains “Reflections” on the last 50 years.

“Fifty years ago, Taupō was a quiet little settlement on the shores of Lake Taupō with a population of little over 10,000 people, 15,000 if the wider District was included. The town boundaries were loosely defined by the Waikato River to the North and the Botanical Gardens to the South-East. Acacia Bay and Rainbow Point were small settlements outside of these boundaries. Richmond Heights was just starting to be developed from bare land, and the Great Lake Centre was yet to be imagined.

From this small population a group of keen choristers got together and decided that what the town needed was a choir. Music teacher, David Lacey, with his wife Eunice at the piano, took rehearsals. After many rehearsals and engaging soloists from out of town, the first concert was staged in July 1976 in the Taupo-Nui-a-Tia College Hall, the only venue in town with a decent piano and room for a good-sized audience. This first concert was greeted with great enthusiasm and approval from the audience and choristers alike so the Taupō Choral Society was born.

The first work to be staged was Handel’s Messiah and this has been the most oft repeated work of the choir. Following that first concert have been many other popular oratorios, songs from musicals, folk songs, popular songs, and a vast repertoire of sacred music performed in concerts throughout the years. Taupō Choral has only had a break of a few years in the early 2000’s, due to not being able to find a Musical Director, but the core group kept searching and were able to perform concerts again. Musical Directors have been many and varied including a lot of well-known names in the town over the years; David Lacey, Barbara Nicholls, Ingulf Revfiem, Julie Jackson, Paul Person and Stephen Cowley to name but a few, as well as guests from out of town. Taupō Choral is now 50 years old!”

 

 

 

 

 

The programme lists 70 concerts Taupō Choral has given over the last 50 years. Those concerts include seven performances of Handel’s Messiah, participation in NZCF events and collaborations with choirs including the Rotorua District Choir, Hastings Choral, the NZ male Choir, Exaudi Youth Choir from Melbourne, and with the Taupō Brass and Concert Bands. They have commemorated ANZAC Days and provided support for community events such as a recent benefit concert for Hospice Taupō. 

Taupō Choral has an extraordinary musical leadership team. Philippa Drake and Jenny McDonald both bring extensive experience in music education and performance. Until very recently Alex Wiltshire was the accompanist, a role she will hold for the Solid Gold concert. Current accompanists are Emma Clark and Elizabeth Tomasec and the impressive list of past Music Directors and accompanists is listed below. 

The Solid Gold Jubilee concert will be conducted by the Taupō Choral’s patron David Hamilton. David’s mother was a foundation member of the choir and over the years he has both conducted concerts and composed pieces for them. He was made the Patron in 2015. David has planned the concert with Taupō Choral, saying:

For the 50^th anniversary programme, the request was that they sing selections from “Messiah”. They have invited Morag Atchison as soprano soloist, so we’re including some of the best-known soprano arias. The second half of the programme is bookended by Hamilton: “The Musical Director” which I wrote for the choir in 2016, and a new piece “I Heard You Singing”. The latter is a setting of the poem by Harry Rodney Bennett (father of Richard Rodney Bennett) and features a significant solo soprano part. Between the Hamilton pieces are a selection of pieces chosen by the choir - one for each decade - a mix of classical and lighter pieces, plus some soprano solos.  

Congratulations Taupō Choral on 50 wonderful years. We wish you well for your celebration concert and for the years ahead.

The Solid Gold Concert is at 3pm, Sunday 15 November at St Andrew’s Church, Taupō.

 

 

 

 

 

         ^{Taupō Choral at recent Taupō Hospice Benefit concert}

TAUPŌ CHORAL MUSICAL DIRECTORS: Stephen Cowley, Philippa Drake, Jim Eyers, Evelyn Falcconer, Merilyn Feickert, Susie Hunter, Julie Jackson, David Lacey, Jenny McDonald, Barbara Nicholls, Paul Person, Bill Power, Cecilie Rose, Alex Wiltshire

TAUPŌ CHORAL ACCOMPANISTS: Pat Ashton, Jenny Brown, Emma Clark, Helen Collier, Catriona Cowley, Merle Dawson, Guy Donaldson, Audrey Eyers, Eunice Lacey, Barbara Nicholls, Lillian Thompson, Elizabeth Thomasek, Alex Wiltshire

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